1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a micro channel element having a channel capable of passing or separating a fluid, such as a gas or a liquid, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Related Background Art
As fluid separating means, a chromatography method has been conventionally used extensively.
For example, a chromatograph apparatus comprising a chromatography element formed on a semiconductor substrate is recently disclosed in "Design of Open-tubular Column Liquid Chromatograph Using Silicon Chip Technology" (Sensors and Actuators, 1990, pp. 249-255). The use of such an element makes miniaturization of apparatuses possible, and this makes it possible to mass-produce apparatuses stable in performance. In a chromatograph apparatus of this type, the separating power of the apparatus is improved by packing porous fine particles in a channel through which a fluid passes, or by performing packing-polymerization of a gel.
In an element formed on a semiconductor substrate, however, a channel for passing a fluid is very narrow; as an example, the diameter of a channel is 10 .mu.m or less in the case of the above-mentioned apparatus. It is very difficult to pack a packing material in such a channel such that the packing material is dispersed evenly and densely.